Quality Time
by Egon-Starcollector
Summary: Harry's decision to spend some quality time with his pet leads to a surprising revelation. Act I of 'The Broken Dragon.'


Quality Time  
  
--by Egon Starcollector  
  
'The Broken Dragon,' Act I.  
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Hedwig are the property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the name for Draco's bird, "owl soccer," and the knowledge that comes from years of owning birds. :)  
  
Harry Potter stepped quietly into the owlery. It was Christmas holiday during Harry's sixth year, and he'd ended up staying at the school yet again. Nevertheless, he'd found some good in it: it gave him time to spend with his owl Hedwig, whom he was trying to teach some tricks.  
  
Many students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry simply regarded their owls as messengers, feathered servants who existed only to deliver mail. Harry, on the other hand, loved his snowy owl and regarded her as his pet rather than just his "messenger." He had never had a pet before, and Hedwig had proven to be very good company during the miserable summers with the Dursleys.  
  
Ah, there she was. Hedwig sat on a high perch, apparently bored almost to tears by the hyperactive chatter of Ron's owl Pigwidgeon. Hedwig seemed fond of the miniature owl, but he also tended to irritate her to no end!  
  
"Come here Hedwig...Daddy's here." Harry made a soft hooting sound not unlike Hedwig's voice and held out his arm. Making a delighted noise Harry recognized as her "Daddy!" hoot, Hedwig fluttered onto his outstretched arm. "Very good...." Harry cooed, feeding her a treat and stroking her feathers. Hedwig had almost reached the point where she came to Harry at every command, but she sometimes turned moody and wouldn't listen.  
  
"Wanna play soccer?" Hedwig perked up noticeably at that, and so Harry carried her to the Gryffindor common room. He sat her on one end of a table, reached into his pocket, and fished out a small rubber ball like the ones Muggle children used to play jacks.  
  
Owl soccer was a game of Harry's own devising. He'd invented it after noticing Hedwig playing with a discarded walnut shell. The table was the "field," and the chairs at each end were the goals. Hedwig stood in front of one chair. Harry stood behind the other, his hands resting on the table so he covered about the same amount of table space as his owl did. They flicked the little ball back and forth, scoring goals by knocking it over the opposite end of the table.  
  
"And Hedwig scores again! The Gryffindor owl can't be stopped today! But will Potter triumph yet? We will see, folks, we will see...." Harry was rather glad that no one else could hear his "play-by-play."  
  
After Hedwig won two games in a row and Harry won a third, it was time for him to take her back to the owlery for food and a nap. "Daddy's good girl played very well, yes she did," he cooed, nuzzling her cheek feathers. She hooted happily, nipping him affectionately on the nose.  
  
As they approached the owlery, Harry froze. There was someone in there! He fell silent and stroked Hedwig's feathers to keep her calm. That voice....  
  
"Come to Daddy, Ariel...that's a good girl...." It couldn't be. Harry peeked cautiously through the door. It was. It couldn't be, but it WAS. Draco Malfoy was cooing to his eagle owl the same way Harry talked to Hedwig! Harry was stunned. He'd never imagined Malfoy was capable of bonding with anything, let alone an owl. "Ariel's a pretty girl, yes she is...."  
  
Suddenly, Harry sneezed. Draco whirled around and glared at him. "Just how long have you been spying on me, Potter?"  
  
"I just got here a second ago." Harry thought for a second, and the words were out before he could stop them. "And don't worry. I'm a 'Daddy' too." Hedwig fluffed her feathers rather dramatically in response.  
  
To Harry's surprise, Draco blushed. "Most people laugh at that."  
  
"What's wrong with it? Hedwig's my pet, and the closest thing to a child I intend to have for a few years yet."  
  
Draco smiled slowly. "Isn't that the truth? They really are like children...so dependent on us, and yet independent when we least expect it and when it's most likely to tear us apart."  
  
This startled Harry, considering the source, but he only nodded in agreement. "I thought your owl's name was Aries."  
  
"According to Father it is. He wouldn't believe me when I told him Aries laid an egg."  
  
"What? Did one of the other owls...?"  
  
"No, I don't believe so. The egg appeared to be sterile. It happens rarely with hens; they'll lay eggs spontaneously even if they've never been near a male."  
  
"I didn't know that," Harry said, suddenly glancing worriedly at Hedwig.  
  
"I wouldn't be concerned, Potter. It's quite rare. Really, I think she was just trying to tell me she needed a different name! Owls aren't the most verbal of avian species, you know."  
  
"Since when are you an owl expert?"  
  
"Oh, I've always loved owls." Harry was utterly staggered by the thought of Draco Malfoy being capable of love at all. "They were the only things I could really talk to as a child without them running to tell Father everything I'd said. I've a whole bookshelf full of owl books at home. Father can't understand it. He says it's pointless to know so much about something when you're only going to dominate it. I was grounded for a whole summer for telling him to shut it," he finished with a wry smile.  
  
"I take it your father isn't one for owls."  
  
"Not so's you'd notice. I've had to rescue more owls that he's mistreated...." He swore softly, calling his father an epithet indicating more than Harry could have wanted to know about how Lucius Malfoy spent his free time. He changed the subject abruptly. "Does yours do any tricks? I'm teaching Ariel to do somersaults in the air."  
  
"Isn't that difficult?"  
  
"Watch this. Do a flip, Ariel!" he cried, setting the bird loose. She soared up in the air, did a perfect somersault, and then zoomed back down to grab the treat Draco held up for her. "Little something I invented with mole's blood and peanut butter. Nauseating to make, but she loves them."  
  
"I know what you mean. Sometimes I hate having to catch mice for Hedwig; it gets so messy, but she's worth it."  
  
"Aren't they, though?" Draco smiled.  
  
"Absolutely. Hedwig's a good Muggle soccer player."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Come upstairs; I'll show you."  
  
The two boys and two owls headed up to the empty Divination classroom. Harry showed Draco how Hedwig played soccer, and Draco declared it was a brilliant idea.  
  
"I should get moving, Potter; I'm going to take Ariel outside to practice that somersault where she doesn't have to worry about the ceilings."  
  
"Good idea. Hedwig needs a nap; I should take her back to the owlery." And the teen wizards went their separate ways, both pondering the day's surprising turn of events. 


End file.
